Colville Park Scottish Cup dream ends

The Motherwell amateur outfit had gone into the second preliminary round match as massive underdogs against the Superleague Division 1 junior outfit but took the game to them from the start as they created a host of chances.

The best of these fell to Tommy Murray on the 20-minute mark, but he shot wide of the post and the chance was spurned.

Colville Park – the reigning Scottish Amateur Cup holders – paid for not making the most of this and other first half opportunities when Girvan netted a second half winner to break their hearts in what was a more even match after the break.

Colville Park manager Michael Kennedy praised his defeated troops by telling media men after the match that he felt it was the best performance by Colville Park under his tenure.

And Colville Park secretary Andy Williamson echoed those sentiments by saying: “We acquitted ourselves very well.

“We had a lot of good chances, especially in the first half, but didn’t capitalise on them.

“Girvan had two chances in the whole game and scored one of them.

“We lacked a bit of composure in front of goal in the first half, with plenty of good build-up play, but then our player snatching at the shot.

“They didn’t finish off the move when a bit of awareness might have paid dividends.

“But I don’t want to slate the players. They played well but it just didn’t go for us on the day.”

Andy said that a half-time rollicking from Girvan’s manager had awoken the Ayrshire team from their slumbers and looked like the catalyst for their improvement.

Hopes had been high that Colville could make history by going further than any Scottish Amateur Cup holding team in the senior Scottish Cup since the amateur winners got automatic entry two seasons ago.

And, although it wasn’t to be, Colville Park did the amateur game proud.